Mekong Tourism Forum 2016 Heads to Sihanoukville, Cambodia

The 2016 Mekong Tourism Forum is set to be hosted by the Ministry of Tourism Cambodia in Sihanoukville at the beautiful Southern coast of Cambodia 5-8 July, 2016. Under the theme, ‘Authentic experiences along the Mekong River’, the tourism event for the Mekong region will showcase emerging tourist destinations and authentic experiences as well as trends in the Greater Mekong Sub-region (GMS).

The six member countries of the Greater Mekong Subregion have banded together to jointly promote sub-regional tourism product development, market the GMS as a single travel destination, and stage the annual Mekong Tourism Forum. The Forum is the event of the year for travel industry professionals dedicated to putting the GMS on the global travel map.

Tourism leaders from the public and private sectors and regional development partners attend the Forum as the ideal place for travel industry stakeholders who are serious about developing the region’s cross-border potential. Business and government leaders will assess the latest tourism developments and investment opportunities along the regional road networks linking Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Viet Nam and the China’s provinces of Yunnan and Guangxi.

“We are looking forward to hosting this influential annual conference and invite the world to Cambodia’s beautiful southern coast,” said H.E. Dr. Thong Kong, Minister of Tourism of Cambodia. “We are in a pivotal time when developing authentic tourism experiences along the Mekong River can set the GMS apart from other tourism destinations,” he said.

The Mekong Tourism Forum will feature top keynote speakers and interactive panel debates. In order to increase relevance, various sideline events will be staged. The private sector of the tourism industry is invited to join the Mekong Tourism Advisory Group (MeTAG) Meeting to discuss the development of the new Mekong Tourism Sector Strategy 2016-2026.

“Aligned to the Experience Mekong Tourism Marketing Strategy 2015-2020, over the past year, we have developed a solid digital platform, designed to engage with industry,” said Jens Thraenhart, Executive Director of the Bangkok-based Mekong Tourism Coordinating Office. “With this year’s theme, we are now rolling out a unique multi-tiered content strategy to tell the stories of the Mekong, from tourism professionals, travelers, and residents, and showcase experiential travel products.”

In order to make it easy for even small and medium sized businesses to get engaged, for the third time in a row, the 2016 Mekong Tourism Forum is free to attend for qualified industry professionals.

About Mekong Tourism:Established in early 2006, the Mekong Tourism Coordinating Office (MTCO) is a collaborative effort between the six countries of the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS): Cambodia, The People’s Republic of China (PRC) (Yunnan and Guangxi Provinces), The Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Lao PDR) Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam. The mission of the MTCO is to help GMS National Tourism Organizations develop and promote the Mekong as a single travel destination, offering a diversity of good quality and high-yielding sub-regional products that help to distribute the benefits of tourism more widely; add to the tourism development efforts of each GMS destination; contribute to poverty reduction, gender equality and empowerment of women; and minimize any adverse impacts of tourism through the development of a sustainable industry. For more information, please visit www.MekongTourism.org, and follow us on social media @TourismMekong.

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